Felisa Rincón de Gautier; mayor San Juan Puerto Rico
Dec 6, 2023 9:44:54 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Dec 6, 2023 9:44:54 GMT -5
Felisa Rincón de Gautier mayor of San Juan Puerto Rico
Felisa Rincón de Gautier was born on January 9, 1897, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The oldest of all siblings (Felisa, Josefina, Cecilia, Esilda, Ramón, Rafael, Enrique and Rita), she was politically influenced by her father, attorney Enrique Rincón Plumey, family of an earlier Mayor of Yabucoa.[who?] Her mother, teacher Rita Marrero Rivera, died when she was around 11 years old. However, her father was determined to give her the best education possible.
She went to school in Fajardo, Humacao and Santurce although she did not graduate from high school; in the summers she visited her uncle in San Lorenzo where she learned how to prepare medications pharmacy and became a pharmacist. Of Spanish descent; her direct paternal grandfather Francisco Rincón Martín came from Salamanca, Spain.
In 1946, she was elected mayor of San Juan - the first woman mayor of a capital city in the Americas. Under her leadership, San Juan was transformed into a Latin-American urban center. Rincón de Gautier designed innovative public services and established the first preschool centers called "Las Escuelas Maternales", which would eventually become the model for the Head Start programs in the United States. She also renovated the public health system and was responsible for the establishment of the School of Medicine in San Juan.
Rincón worked with Ricardo Alegría to restore and conserve the historical structures of Old San Juan and provided housing and basic services to thousands of people. In 1951, during the Cold War era, she ordered the establishment of the island's first Civil Defense system which was under the directorship of Colonel Gilberto José Marxuach. She often opened City Hall to the public and listened to concerns of the residents of the city. In 1959, San Juan was awarded the All American City Award.
Rincón de Gautier started a Christmas tradition, which would be continued every year by the governors of Puerto Rico. On the Día de los Reyes (Three Kings Day), celebrated on January 6, she would bring gifts and treats to the poor and needy children. In 1952, 1953 and 1954, she had plane loads of snow delivered to San Juan so that the children who had never seen or played in snow would be able to do so.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felisa_Rinc%C3%B3n_de_Gautier
She went to school in Fajardo, Humacao and Santurce although she did not graduate from high school; in the summers she visited her uncle in San Lorenzo where she learned how to prepare medications pharmacy and became a pharmacist. Of Spanish descent; her direct paternal grandfather Francisco Rincón Martín came from Salamanca, Spain.
In 1946, she was elected mayor of San Juan - the first woman mayor of a capital city in the Americas. Under her leadership, San Juan was transformed into a Latin-American urban center. Rincón de Gautier designed innovative public services and established the first preschool centers called "Las Escuelas Maternales", which would eventually become the model for the Head Start programs in the United States. She also renovated the public health system and was responsible for the establishment of the School of Medicine in San Juan.
Rincón worked with Ricardo Alegría to restore and conserve the historical structures of Old San Juan and provided housing and basic services to thousands of people. In 1951, during the Cold War era, she ordered the establishment of the island's first Civil Defense system which was under the directorship of Colonel Gilberto José Marxuach. She often opened City Hall to the public and listened to concerns of the residents of the city. In 1959, San Juan was awarded the All American City Award.
Rincón de Gautier started a Christmas tradition, which would be continued every year by the governors of Puerto Rico. On the Día de los Reyes (Three Kings Day), celebrated on January 6, she would bring gifts and treats to the poor and needy children. In 1952, 1953 and 1954, she had plane loads of snow delivered to San Juan so that the children who had never seen or played in snow would be able to do so.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felisa_Rinc%C3%B3n_de_Gautier